This is my first laying chicken and I haven't found the info that I want on BYC yet, so I'm asking here; My BCM hen has been laying for 2 weeks. Like clock work, I get an egg about every 25 hours. I would like to get a dozen of her eggs to hatch and maybe only this one time. So my grandkids can see the miracle of life. Can someone help with a step by step "How To" of what we need or should do. Thanks for your help.
When you collect her eggs store them in an egg carton or tray, somewhere cool and fairly humid. Check them over for cracks or any obvious shell faults, like malformations, ridges etc and discard or eat those. Also weed out any really, really big ones as they may be double yolks and those are a nightmare to hatch. Try not too store the oldest ones longer than 10-12 days as after this their changes of hatching drops significantly. There is a lot of wonderful information on incubating and hatching eggs here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101 Best of luck with your hatch and have fun!
Cool and dark and and from 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit is best. 70% humidity is the sweet spot of hatching eggs storage but what ever you do DO NOT WASH THE EGGS THAT YOU INTEND TO HATCH. A lead pencil to mark the date on which the egg was laid is a nice touch. That will also let you watch out for or remove any eggs that don't belong in the nest. Once your hatching eggs are in their egg carton BIG END UP AND LITTLE OR SHARP END DOWN the eggs need to be turned at least once each day. Put a short piece of 2X4 or a brick under one end of the carton so that it is higher than the other end of the egg carton. Then once each day (like when adding eggs to the carton, move the 2X4 or the brick to the opposite end of the carton. Don't forget to keep the eggs in a dark humid place but do not let water condense on the egg shells. If an egg needs cleaning before incubation gently sandpaper the shell clean. Good luck. How are you planning on incubating your eggs? We need to know so we can best advise. Again good luck
